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Beginning with their first day in prison to their last day of community supervision, our reentry planning and coordination is designed to assist offenders’ successful reentry into society and to reduce the likelihood of future victims.

The offender success process is based on evidence-based practice and occurs in phases:

Phase I - Prison

Phase I involves the review of the pre-sentence investigation report and the Risk and Needs assessments. A case plan is developed based on the results of the assessments and evaluations. The case plan is fluid and is responsive to changes in risk and needs during the term of incarceration. The case plan follows the prisoner throughout his or her term of incarceration until parole or upon discharge at the end of the maximum term.

1. Assessment, Classification, Parole Board Interaction:

a)Measure prisoner’s risks, needs, and strengths and engage the Parole Board in the design and approval of the case plan.

c)Review each prisoner’s previous and current program history and determine what steps will be needed to transition the individual into those programs upon parole.

d)Assess the special needs of populations such as females, youthful prisoners, mentally ill prisoners, and developmentally disabled prisoners

2. Prisoner Programming & Services:

a)Develop for each prisoner an individualized case plan, approved by the Parole Board, which is based on information obtained from assessments and explains what programming should be provided during the period of incarceration.

b)Ensure programs incorporate the principles of “cultural and gender competency.”

c)Include in the programming plan periodic reassessments during the prisoner’s incarceration which identifies the need for modifications of the plan.

d)Establish a centralized recordkeeping system of programming provided by Department staff and contracted vendors.

e)Establish centralized processes for ensuring that prisoners are placed in programming in a timely manner based on their ERD to allow for program completion prior to that date.

f)Integrate prevention of disease, education, and good health promotion into correctional health services.

n)Engage potential employers prior to release to ensure prisoners are developing the appropriate skills to obtain and retain employment.

o)Provide employers with the opportunity to forge relationships with prisoners prior to their release, including interviewing prisoners and reviewing their performance in vocational programs to allow for potential offers of employment prior to parole.

p)Provide prisoners with opportunities to participate in work assignments and skill-building programs that enhance their employability in the community.

q)Establish work programs that involve non-profit, volunteer, and community service organizations where possible to permit prisoners to gain work experience.

r)Ensure prisoners released from prison have appropriate forms of identification and information on how to apply for services and assistance for which they are potentially eligible.

Phase II – Transition to Community

Phase II involves the next two major areas of preparation for Prisoner Release and Decision-making. The transition to community phase begins when the prisoner’s parole readiness is assessed in light of his or her earliest release date (ERD). At a point in each prisoner’s incarceration when there remains sufficient time for additional training or programming, if needed, the prisoner’s Phase I conduct and compliance with the case plan must be reviewed. The goal of preparing the prisoner for parole by the ERD relies on an ongoing evaluation of the prisoner’s behavior and the effectiveness of the case plan to meet its objectives for mitigating risk. The parole eligibility report or a similar assessment will inform the Parole Board of the prisoner’s parole readiness. At the discretion of the Board, in conjunction with positive parole action, prisoners with moderate or high criminogenic needs may be referred to an InReach facility where transition services are available. There, offender success plans are finalized with the assistance of a local transition team to address important needs such as housing, employment, and treatment for addiction or mental illness.

3. Prisoner Release Preparation:

a)Ensure the prisoner is ready to return to the community and that programming is developed in the community to support a realistic and public safety-conscious parole plan.

b)Determine, on an individual basis, the parole placement needs for each offender released from prison, taking into consideration the requirements for individuals with special needs and populations with special stipulations, such as sex offenders.

c)Evaluate the appropriateness of an offender living with family members; taking into account the risk of domestic violence or child abuse based on the offender’s history or risk assessments and the vulnerability of family members.

d)Ensure that prisoners who anticipate having to rely on reentry resources for commercial transitional housing understand that such provisions are temporary and that their parole plan must include a strategy for becoming self-sufficient to secure his or her own housing.

e)Encourage private sector or nonprofit housing developers and community-based organizations to develop housing options to serve as transitional parole placements for offenders who do not have viable placements with family or friends upon release.

f)Ensure that prisoner health care is documented and delivered in such a way that recommended care and support can be continued in the community upon release.

g)Ensure prisoners understand their individual health care needs sufficiently to know where to go for help and what to ask when they become responsible for guiding their own care.

h)Develop relationships with employers in local communities that may hire parolees.

i)Promote employment and transitional job opportunities for parolees in local communities and educate employers about the training completed by prisoners, as well as financial incentives such as the federal bonding program, work opportunity tax credit, and welfare to work programs which may make offenders more appealing employment candidates.

j)Identify or establish community service, transitional employment, apprenticeships, internships, and other opportunities for offenders to acquire work experience and skills as they seek permanent employment.

k)Engage prospective employers to become members of prisoners’ transition teams where possible.

4. Release Decision-Making:

a)Ensure that the Parole Board is fully informed about the prisoner’s progress toward achieving case plan objectives; provide the Board with an accurate, up-to-date risk and needs assessment and parole guidelines score.

b)Ensure registered victims have an opportunity to provide input into the parole consideration process.

c)Ensure that the conditions of parole in each case recognize the particular strengths, weaknesses, and needs of the prisoner, the resources in the community, evidence of their efficacy for case management purposes, and that the term of parole contains conditions that the Board is prepared to enforce.

d)Ensure that the decisions of the Parole Board to deny parole include an explanation to the prisoner of the decision and any recommendations the Parole Board may have for steps the prisoner might take to enhance his or her readiness for parole at his or her next consideration date. The Parole Board’s recommendation may include a referral to a prison based program.

Phase III – Community & Discharge:

Phase III involves the final three major decision points of the Transition Process; Supervision, Revocation, and Discharge/Aftercare. The community and discharge phase begins when the prisoner is paroled from prison and continues until discharge from community supervision. During this phase, the parolee, the parole officer, human services providers and the offender’s personal support network must collaborate to optimize the parolee’s chances for a successful adjustment to community living. Although discharge from his or her sentence represents the end of the reentry work for the parole officer, mentoring and social services may still be appropriate in some cases for offenders who seek such continuing support after discharge.

5. Supervision, Services and Opportunities:

a)Review and prioritize the Parole Board terms and conditions of parole and develop a supervision strategy that corresponds to the risk and needs of the individual offender and the resources available in the community.

b)Transfer the prisoner designated by the Parole Board for participation in InReach programming and services to a correctional facility nearest to the community in which the prisoner will be placed upon parole.

c)Engage community members, including representatives from the local law enforcement community, community organizations, the faith community, business community, and contracted offender success partners to serve on a transition team with corrections staff for the purpose of meeting with the prisoner prior to his or her release to facilitate planning and support for offender success into the community.

d)Apply the information from the risk and needs assessments, psychological evaluations, offender relapse prevention plans, pre-sentence investigation reports, Department policy and procedural directives, and other sources to classify each prisoner to the appropriate level of supervision and then create a plan or supervision strategy tailored to the prisoner through the creation or revision of a TAP.

e)Assign a parole officer to manage the case, and ensure a placement investigation is completed to confirm that the proposed parole placement is suitable.

f)Provide the prisoner with a copy of the conditions of parole during the orientation by the supervising parole officer to ensure the offender clearly understands what is expected of him or her during the supervision period.

g)Provide the prisoner with a 30-day supply of essential medication, as determined by health care staff, upon release to the community to avoid a gap in prescribed medical care.

h)Concentrate community supervision resources on the period immediately following release from prison and adjust supervision strategies as the needs of the offender, victim, and community change over time.

i)Focus case management activity on interaction between the parole officer and the parolee in the field, where the offender lives and works.

j)Leverage community-based networks to assist with case management efforts; engaging law enforcement partners, the offender’s family members, the employer, therapist, and mentors as members of the case management team.

l)Work continuously to establish and verify the offender’s compliance with parole conditions; correcting behavior and thinking through casework options, including both positive and negative reinforcement as appropriate.

m)Ensure that case management is done in a manner that increases the likelihood of employment and retention, including maintaining a positive relationship between the parole officer and employer, as well as ensuring that contacts between the parole officer and parolee do not jeopardize the parolee’s employment.

o)Engage the services of contracted providers, as needed, to assist with the coordination of case management efforts.

6. Revocation Decision-Making:

a)Respond to offender non-compliance with interventions to correct behavior and promote self-discipline.

b)Refer parolees to the Parole Board whose violation behavior represents a threat to public safety.

c)Provide parole officers with a range of interventions and sanctions to correct behavior and re-orient offenders to pursue TAP objectives when possible.

7. Discharge & Aftercare:

a)Develop post-supervision plans with parolees.

b)Assess the needs of all prisoners who will discharge on their maximum terms from prison and provide them with guidance on how and where to seek care and services in the community. Pay particularly close attention to establish written plans for prisoners with special needs and those convicted of sex offenses.